The Crystal Mirror of Philosophical Systems: A Tibetan Study of Asian Religious Thought (25) (Library of Tibetan Classics)

About this book

The Crystal Mirror of Philosophical Systems by Thuken Losang Chokyi Nyima (1737-1802) is arguably the widest-ranging account of religious philosophies ever written in pre-modern Tibet. Like most Tibetan texts on philosophical systems this work covers the major schools of India both Buddhist and non-Buddhist but then goes on to discuss in detail the entire range of Tibetan traditions as well with separate chapters on the Nyingma Kadam Kagyu Shije Sakya Jonang Geluk and Bon schools. Not resting there Thuken goes on to describe the major traditions of ChinaConfucian Daoist and the multiple varieties of Buddhistas well as those of Mongolia Khotan and even Shambhala. The Crystal Mirror of Philosophical Systems is unusual too in its concern not just to describe and analyze doctrines but to trace the historical development of the various traditions. The Crystal Mirror of Philosophical Systems is an eloquent and erudite presentation exploring the religious history and philosophical systems of an array of Asian Culturesand offering evidence that the serious and sympathetic study of the history of religions has not been a monopoly of Western scholarship.